Container for packaging paper sheets, and paper sheet package body

ABSTRACT

Provided is a packaging container for containing stacked sheets of paper, or a paper sheet package body having sheets of paper contained therein. The container or the box of the paper sheet package body is provided with a paper sheet extraction opening straddling two adjacent surfaces of the container or of the box, or with a cut for forming the extraction opening. The extraction opening is provided with: end sections located at both ends thereof in the boundary direction extending along the boundary between the two surfaces; first and second narrow sections located between both end sections and narrowed in the direction perpendicular to the boundary direction; and a protrusion located between the first and second narrow sections and protruding further toward an end section of either one and/or the other of the two surfaces than both end sections, the end section being located on the side opposite the boundary.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a container for packaging paper sheets,and particularly relates to a container for housing a plurality ofstacked paper sheets and a paper sheet package body.

BACKGROUND ART

A container for packaging a plurality of stacked paper sheets may havean outlet through which paper sheets therein are taken out. According toPatent Literature 1, in addition to an outlet made through an uppersurface, an outlet through which paper sheets (tissue paper) are takenout is formed across a side of the box to allow the housed paper sheetsto be taken out through different outlets.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.2009-220859

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

When taking out a paper sheet from a container such as the containerrecited in Patent Literature 1, the easiness of taking out varies inaccordance with the state of the paper sheet. For example, the papersheet is easily taken out when a part thereof juts out from the outlet.On the other hand, when the paper sheet is entirely housed inside thebox and no part thereof juts out, it is difficult to take out the papersheet because it is necessary to pick out the paper sheet through theoutlet.

An object of the present invention is to provide a container forpackaging paper sheets and a paper sheet package body, each of which hasan outlet making it possible to easily take out paper sheets stored inthe container.

Solution to Problem

A container for packaging a plurality of stacked paper sheets of thepresent invention includes: a substantially rectangular parallelepipedbox; and one of an outlet of the paper sheets, which is formed acrosstwo neighboring surfaces of the box and slits intermittently formedalong the outline of the outlet to form the outlet, the outletincluding: ends in border directions, which are in parallel to theborder between the two surfaces; first and second narrowed parts whichare formed between the ends and are narrowed in a direction orthogonalto the border directions; and a protruding part which is formed betweenthe first and second narrowed parts and protrudes, as compared to theends, toward an edge of at least one of the two surfaces, the edge beingopposite to the border.

In addition to the above, the paper sheet package body of the presentinvention includes: the container above; and a plurality of paper sheetswhich are stacked in the container in an alternately folded manner, inthe border directions, the outlet being on the inside of the papersheets in the container.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

The container of the present invention is arranged such that an outlet(or slits) has a protruding part which protrudes away from the border ascompared to the ends. In other words, the outlet (or the slits) greatlycuts into the surfaces along the surfaces. For this reason, even if thepaper sheets remain deep inside the box, the paper sheets are easilytaken off because the paper sheets remaining deep inside are reachablethrough the greatly-cutting protruding part.

The paper sheet package body of the present invention stores the papersheets in a stacked manner with the sheets being folded with oneanother. Therefore, when one paper sheet is taken off, the next papersheet is likely to jut out from the outlet together with the one papersheet. As such, when a paper sheet is taken out from the outlet, thenext paper sheet is ready to be taken out. Furthermore, the outlet isformed to be on the inside of the paper sheets which are provided on theinner side.

Because of this arrangement, when a paper sheet is taken out through theoutlet, the paper sheet passes through the outlet while being narrowedin width. This facilitates the folding of the first paper sheet with thenext paper sheet, and hence these sheets are likely to be taken outtogether.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[FIG. 1] FIG. 1 is an oblique perspective view of a box paper of anembodiment of the present invention.

[FIG. 2] FIG. 2 is an oblique perspective view showing how a layeredbody is formed by folding and stacking paper sheets.

[FIG. 3] FIG. 3 shows a box blank of a box-shaped container constitutingthe box paper, which has not been folded yet.

[FIG. 4] FIG. 4 is a variation of the outlet of the box paper.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following will describe a box paper 1 (paper sheet package body) ofan embodiment of the present invention with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG.3. The box paper 1 includes a box-shaped container 2 (box) and aplurality of paper sheets 3 housed in the container 2. The paper sheets3 are each rectangular in plan view, and are each folded in two andstacked in an alternate manner as shown in FIG. 2. As such, the layeredbody 3 g of the paper sheets 3 is formed. The box-shaped container 2 isroughly rectangular parallelepiped and has a hollow internal spacetherein. The outer walls of the box-shaped container 2 are constitutedby thin plates made of cardboard, synthetic resin, or the like. As shownin FIG. 1, the layered body 3 g of the paper sheets 3 is housed to besubstantially as wide as the internal space in border directions. In thelayered body 3 g, the direction in which the paper sheets 3 are stackedis in parallel to the vertical direction.

Through the box-shaped container 2 is formed an outlet 4 for taking outthe paper sheets 3. The outlet 4 penetrates the outer walls of thebox-shaped container 2 to connect the internal space with the outside.The outlet 4 is formed across an upper surface 2 a of the box-shapedcontainer 2 and a side surface 2 b that neighbors the upper surface 2 a.The outline of the outlet 4 intersects at two parts with the side 2 cwhich is the border between the upper surface 2 a and the side surface 2b. The two parts are points 4 a and 4 b that are at the respective endsin directions along the side 2 c (hereinafter, the directions will bereferred to as border directions). The outlet 4 is formed to be narrowedoutward in the border directions, i.e., is tapered off toward the ends 4a and 4 b. On the outline of the outlet 4, parts of the outline otherthan the points 4 a and 4 b are separated from the side 2 c in thedirections orthogonal to the border directions. Furthermore, no part ofthe outline of the outlet 4 sharply points at the outlet 4, and theparts of the outline other than the points 4 a and 4 b are smoothly andcontinuously connected with one another. The outlet 4 is shorter thanthe length of the side 2 c in the border directions. Furthermore, theoutlet 4 is formed to be on the inside of the layered body 3 g of thepaper sheets 3 which is housed inside, in the border directions. Inother words, in the border directions the outlet 4 is narrower in widththan the layered body 3 g.

Between the ends 41 and 42 that are the respective ends of the outlet 4in the border directions, narrowed parts 43 and 44 (first and secondnarrowed parts) are formed. Each of the narrowed parts 43 and 44 is apart where the outlet 4 is narrowed in the directions orthogonal to theborder directions. Only at the narrowed parts 43 and 44, the outlet 4protrudes toward the side 2 c. In each of the narrowed parts 43 and 44,the leading end where each part is closest to the side 2 c is separatedfrom the side 2 c.

Between the narrowed parts 43 and 44 in the border directions,protruding parts 45 and 46 are formed. The protruding part 45 is formedon the upper surface 2 a to horizontally protrude from the side 2 ctoward the opposite side 2 d. In other words, the protruding part 45protrudes along the surface of the topmost paper sheet 3 in the layeredbody 3 g. The leading end of the protruding part 45 is closer to theside 2 d than the ends 41 and 42. Through the protruding part 45, thetopmost paper sheet 3 in the layered body 3 g is exposed upward.

The protruding part 46 is formed on the side surface 2 b to protrudevertically downward from the side 2 c toward the opposite side 2 e. Inother words, the protruding part 46 protrudes in the direction in whichthe paper sheets 3 are stacked in the layered body 3 g. The lower end(leading end) of the protruding part 46 is closer to the side 2 e thanthe ends 41 and 42, and is positioned to almost reach the lower surfaceof the box-shaped container 2. Through the protruding part 46, the sideedges of the paper sheets in the layered body 3 g are exposed.Furthermore, because the lower end of the protruding part 46 almostreaches the lower surface of the box-shaped container 2, the papersheets 3 are exposed to the outside through the lower end part of theprotruding part 46, even if the remaining number of the paper sheets 3in the layered body 3 g becomes small.

The box blank 102 shown in FIG. 3 illustrates the box-shaped container 2which is not folded yet. The box blank 102 is a single thin plate madeof cardboard, synthetic resin, or the like. The box blank 102 includesrectangular parts 111 to 118 and pasting margins 121 to 125. Therectangular parts 111 to 114 serve as, in the box-shaped container 2, aside surface opposing the side surface 2 b, the upper surface 2 a, theside surface 2 b, and a lower surface, respectively. The rectangularparts 115 to 118 serve as, in the box-shaped container 2, side surfaceson the respective sides in the border directions. The pasting margins121 to 125 are provided inside the box-shaped container 2 to be pastedonto the rectangular part 115 and the like. Across the rectangular parts112 and 113, a cutting-off line 104 is formed along the outline of theregion which forms the outlet 4. The cutting-off line 104 isintermittent slits penetrating the box blank 102, in which a line ofholes is formed along the curved outline of the outlet 4.

In the box blank 102, the rectangular parts 111 to 118 and the margins121 to 125 are folded 90 degrees with respect to one another at foldinglines indicated by two-dot chain lines. The folding lines 131 to 133serve as the sides 2 c to 2 e in the box-shaped container 2. Therectangular parts 116 and 118 are folded to be inside the rectangularparts 115 and 117, respectively, and are pasted onto the correspondingparts by means of an adhesive. The pasting margins 121 to 125 are foldedto be inside the rectangular parts 111 to 118, respectively, and arepasted onto the rectangular parts 111 and 115 to 118 by means of anadhesive. The box paper 1 is constructed in such a way that the partsabove are pasted onto one another while the layered body 3 g of thepaper sheets 3 is housed inside. As a part of the box-shaped container 2is cut off along the cutting-off line 104, the outlet 4 is formed in thebox paper 1 as shown in FIG. 1.

According to the embodiment described above, the outlet 4 is formedacross the upper surface 2 a and the side surface 2 b. This allows thepaper sheets 3 to be taken out through the outlet 4 not only verticallyupward but also horizontally. P1 in FIG. 1 indicates, by a dotted line,an example of the paper sheet 3 having been taken out vertically upward,whereas P2 in FIG. 1 indicates, by a dotted line, an example of thepaper sheet 3 having been horizontally taken out. Therefore, even if,for example, an article is placed on the upper surface 2 a of thebox-shaped container 2 and the part of the outlet 4 formed on the uppersurface 2 a is blocked, it is possible to take out the paper sheet 3from the side surface 2 b side. Furthermore, through the outlet 4, thetopmost paper sheet 3 in the layered body 3 g is taken out. In thisregard, the paper sheets 3 provided inside are stacked in an alternatelyfolded manner as shown in FIG. 2. For this reason, when the topmostpaper sheet 3 is being take out, this paper sheet 3 being taken outrolls up the upper part of the next paper sheet 3. Therefore, after thepaper sheet 3 is taken out, the upper part of the next paper sheet 3juts out from the outlet 4. This makes it possible to easily take outthe paper sheet 3 next time.

In addition to the above, according to the present embodiment, theprotruding parts 45 and 46 are formed at the outlet 4. In the layeredbody 3 g provided in the box-shaped container 2, the topmost paper sheet3 is exposed upward through the protruding part 45. On the other hand,the side edges of the paper sheets 3 in the layered body 3 g are exposedto the outside through the protruding part 46. There is a case where,when the paper sheet 3 is taken out, the next paper sheet 3 is notrolled up and remains inside the box-shaped container 2. In this regard,even if the paper sheet 3 remains in the box-shaped container 2, thispaper sheet 3 is successfully taken out in such a way that, a part ofthe paper sheet 3 is exposed through the protruding parts 45 and 46, andthis part is picked. In particular, because the lower end part of theprotruding part 46 is formed to almost reach the lower surface of thebox-shaped container 2, the paper sheets 3 are exposed to the outsidethrough the lower end part of the protruding part 46, even if the numberof the remaining paper sheets 3 in the layered body 3 g becomes small.When the number of the remaining paper sheets 3 in the layered body 3 gbecomes small, the paper sheets 3 tend to remain at the bottom part ofthe box-shaped container 2. Even in such a case, each paper sheet 3 issuccessfully taken out through the lower end part of the protruding part46.

In addition to the above, in the present embodiment, the outlet 4 isformed to be on the inside of the layered body 3 g, in the borderdirections. Therefore, when the paper sheet 3 is being taken out fromthe outlet 4, the width of this paper sheet 3 is narrowed in the borderdirections when passing through the outlet 4. The paper sheet 3 isfolded with the upper part of the next paper sheet 3. For this reason,as the topmost paper sheet 3 is being taken out while being narrowed inwidth, the upper part of the paper sheet 3 folded with the topmost papersheet 3 is also taken out while being narrowed in width, together withthe topmost paper sheet 3. In this regard, in Patent Literature 1 one ofthe outlets is formed to be as wide as the container. In thisarrangement, because the paper sheet is not narrowed in width at all,the paper sheet tends to be smoothly taken out without being folded withthe next paper sheet. If the paper sheet being taken out is not foldedwith the next paper sheet, the next paper sheet is not easily taken outfrom the outlet. On the other hand, because in the present embodimentthe topmost paper sheet 3 and the next paper sheet 3 are taken out whilebeing narrowed in width, the folding of the paper sheets 3 with eachother is ensured and hence these sheets are likely to be taken outtogether. Therefore, after the paper sheet 3 is taken out, the nextpaper sheet 3 is unlikely to remain in the box-shaped container 2, andthe upper part thereof is likely to jut out.

In addition to the above, according to the present embodiment, thenarrowed parts 43 and 44 are formed at the outlet 4. Therefore, when thepaper sheet 3 is taken out from the outlet 4, this paper sheet 3 beingtaken out is vertically sandwiched between the narrowed parts 43 and 44,together with the next paper sheet 3. Because this facilitates thesepaper sheets 3 to be folded with each other, the sheets are likely to betaken out together. For this reason, after the paper sheet 3 is takenout, the next paper sheet 3 is unlikely to remain in the box-shapedcontainer 2, and the upper part thereof is likely to jut out.

In addition to the above, according to the present embodiment, in theoutlet 4 only the narrowed parts 43 and protrude toward the side 2 c,and the leading ends protruding toward the side 2 c are separated fromthe side 2 c. Therefore, when the paper sheet 3 is taken out, the nextpaper sheet 3 is unlikely to be caught at the narrowed parts 43 and 44and jammed, no matter whether the paper sheet is taken out verticallyupward as indicated by P1 in FIG. 1 or the paper sheet is horizontallytaken out as indicated by P2.

Box papers are typically arranged such that a film or the like is pastedat an outlet to facilitate, when a paper sheet is taken out, the nextpaper sheet to be taken out together with the paper sheet. On the otherhand, the present embodiment is arranged so that, even if a film of thelike is not pasted at the outlet 4, the next paper sheet 3 is taken outtogether with the paper sheet 3 being taken out, on account of thefunctions of the narrowed parts 43 and 44 and also of the formation ofthe outlet 4 to be on the inside of the paper sheet 3. Because a film orthe like is unnecessary in the present embodiment, the environmentprotection and the resource conservation are ensured.

In addition to the above, in Patent Literature 1 two outlets are formed;one being formed on the upper surface whereas the other being formed tobe as wide as the container. In this structure, the overall strength ofthe container may be low. On the other hand, according to the presentembodiment, only one outlet 4 is formed and the outlet 4 is not as wideas the box-shaped container 2. The container of the present embodimenttherefore has improved strength as compared to the container of PatentLiterature 1.

In addition to the above, in the present embodiment the ends 41 and 42of the outlet 4 are tapered off toward the points 4 a and 4 b,respectively. The outlet 4 is arranged in this way for the reason below.When the paper sheet 3 is taken out from the outlet 4, the ends of thepaper sheet 3 in the border directions contact with the ends 41 and 42,respectively. When the paper sheet 3 is made of relatively hard paper,the resistance applied to the parts contacting with the ends 41 and 42is high. For example, when the tapered parts are not formed as in anoutlet 204 (described later) shown in FIG. 4, the resistance applied tothe parts contacting with the ends 41 and 42 may be excessively high,and the paper sheet 3 may not be easily taken out. In this regard, inthe present embodiment, the ends 41 and 42 of the outlet 4 are taperedoff. As the ends of the paper sheet 3 pass through these tapered parts,the paper sheet 3 passes through the area which is wider than the areain case where the tapered parts are not formed, with the result that theresistance applied to the parts of the paper sheet 3 contacting with theends 41 and 42 is restrained. On the other hand, when the paper sheet 3is made of relatively soft paper, the width of the paper sheet 3 may notbe sufficiently narrowed at the time of passing through the taperedparts, because the paper sheet 3 passes through the area which is widerthan the area in case where the tapered parts are not formed. In thisregard, when the paper sheet 3 is made of relatively soft paper, thewidth of the paper sheet 3 is sufficiently narrowed if the ends of thepaper sheet 3 pass through regions slightly deviated from the taperedparts. As such, because of the formation of the tapered parts in thepresent embodiment, the paper sheet 3 is easily taken out no matterwhether the paper sheet 3 is relatively hard or relatively soft.

(Variations)

While in the embodiment above both of the protruding parts 45 and 46 areformed at the outlet 4, only one of these protruding parts may beformed. Furthermore, FIG. 1 shows the box paper 1 with the outlet 4being open. In this regard, the state in which the cutting-off line 104has been formed but the outlet has not been opened yet is alsoencompassed within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, theends 41 and 42 of the outlet 4 are formed to be tapered off toward thepoints 4 a and 4 b. Alternatively, as in an outlet 204 shown in FIG. 4,the ends in the border directions may not be tapered off but smoothlycurved.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

A possible use is to store a plurality of stacked sheet members.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   1 BOX PAPER-   2 BOX-SHAPED CONTAINER-   2 a UPPER SURFACE-   2 b SIDE SURFACE-   3 PAPER SHEET-   4 OUTLET-   41, 42 END-   43, 44 NARROWED PART-   45, 46 PROTRUDING PART

1. A container for packaging a plurality of stacked paper sheets,comprising: a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box; and one ofan outlet of the paper sheets, which is formed across two neighboringsurfaces of the box and slits intermittently formed along the outline ofthe outlet to form the outlet, the outlet including: ends in borderdirections, which are in parallel to the border between the twosurfaces; first and second narrowed parts which are formed between theends and are narrowed in a direction orthogonal to the borderdirections; and a protruding part which is formed between the first andsecond narrowed parts and protrudes, as compared to the ends, toward anedge of at least one of the two surfaces, the edge being opposite to theborder.
 2. The container according to claim 1, wherein, parts where theends intersect the border are sharply formed outward in the borderdirections.
 3. A paper sheet package body comprising: the containeraccording to claim 1; and a plurality of paper sheets which are stackedin the container in an alternately folded manner, in the borderdirections, the outlet being on the inside of the paper sheets in thecontainer.